Storm System in Northeast Affecting Flights at Tampa International

TAMPA | There won't be any severe weather in the Tampa Bay area this weekend but the big winter storm in other parts of the country will have an impact here.

BAY NEWS 9

TAMPA | There won't be any severe weather in the Tampa Bay area this weekend but the big winter storm in other parts of the country will have an impact here.

Several flights in and out of Tampa International Airport are being canceled due to the huge storm sweeping across the northeast.

Most of the flights affected are out of the northeast, although some flights in and out of the Midwest are being affected.

Before the first snowflake had fallen, Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other New England cities canceled school Friday, and airlines scratched more than 2,600 flights through Saturday, with the disruptions from the blizzard certain to ripple across the U.S.

"We have a system racing up the Atlantic coast that will meet with another system coming out of Canada," said Bay News 9 Meteorologist Diane Kacmarik. "When they meet today, that's when the Northeast will see all that snowfall."

The snow is expected to start Friday morning, with the heaviest amounts falling at night and into Saturday. Wind gusts could reach 75 mph. Widespread power failures were feared, along with flooding in coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy in October.

Boston could get more than 2 feet of snow, while New York City was expecting 10 to 12 inches. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said plows and 250,000 tons of salt were being put on standby. To the south, Philadelphia was looking at a possible 4 to 6 inches.

Blizzard warnings were posted for parts of New Jersey and New York's Long Island, as well as portions of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, including Hartford, New Haven, Conn., and Providence. The warnings extended into New Hampshire and Maine.

In New England, it could prove to be among the top 10 snowstorms in history, and perhaps even break Boston's record of 27.6 inches, set in 2003, according to officials.

Airline officials are advising passengers to be patient and continuously check in with their airline.